walnut / helpful knowledge

I mentioned a while back that we are doing a walnut job. Well, I learned something new in the past couple of days. Starting the job I bought 450’ of walnut “clear” for 4.33 a bf. I really sunk some donuts in that wood. I needed about 150’ more to finish the job and the price of walnut has made things tight for me on this job.

Well, today at another supplier here in San Antonio, I bought 150’ of #2 common 4/4 rustic walnut in the rough for 1.62 per bf. I loaded the wood and it looked as good or better then the “clear” I bought from another place at 4.33 bf. There looks to be no knots on most boards and maybe one or two nots on a board. So I had invested 1950.00 in 450’ of walnut and if I had known I could have bought this “rustic” walnut in the rough which would have ran me 729.00. I over spent by more than 1200.00. I would gladly spend 2 days planing and running straight line on boards for 1200.00 savings. So I am just venting some here.

So, basically knowledge is POWER! If anyone is in for a walnut job check for a knotty or rustic walnut and save some money. Oh yeah, almost no sapp wood on the walnut I just bought, pure consistent color. I can only shake my head. Now I cannot wait until I get another walnut customer!!! :)

So, can anyone give me any suggestions on straight lining techniques. We do have a small 6” ridgid jointer that I plan to use to edge joint the boards. Honestly I have little experience with the jointer as it rarely gets used. Any suggestions are welcome…

Thanks,Jerry

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12 replies so far

Historically, the grading rules for FASwalnut have been refined to encourage better use of this valuable species. Because of this, FASWalnut grades allow for smaller boards, both in width and length. Natural characteristics are alsoadmitted to a greater extent than the standard NHLA grade rules for other species. A detailedexplanation can be found in the NHLA rules book.

As long as the out feed table is set to the proper height ( the height of the blade) then you should be able to join the boards well. Start with the crown up and take a few short strokes of both ends until it looks like you can make a cut all the way down the edge. Then make one more pass. Better yet find a shop with a heavy jointer and just get it done and move on.

I straight edge longer boards on the table saw by just pin tacking a straight piece to the top of one side to run on my fence. That gives me one straight edge and from there it’s easy street. It’s way faster than a jointer to get “rough out” straight boards. It will of course cost you less wood if you cut to length first.

Holy #*&%...$1.62 bf…I’m moving to your neck of the woods. It can go upwards to $8 around here. On the milling aspect, if your buying these rough sawn you will need to flatten one face before running through your thickness planer. Follow Jonnyfurniture’s advise but remember to keep the slight downward pressure on the outfeed side of your jointer. I say slight because you don’t want to push the cup down. You want the board to be “relaxed”.

-- Gary; Marysville, MI...Involve your children in your projects as much as possible, the return is priceless.

yeah, I cannot believe the whole 1.62 bf thing myself but my reciept says so, and the colors in the walnut are brilliant and very little sapp wood or knots. A great deal! I had called another supplier in this area who quoted me 2.06 bf so evidentally that is a market value for a “rustic” walnut in the rough here. I learned of this from another cabinet shop nearby and they told me that is all they ever use when working with walnut, they said they never buy the “clear” walnut. So anyhow, I am very excited and looking forward to doing another walnut job in the near future if I can sell one.

Paul, what are you talking about “pins”. I cannot imagine what that is. I have a 23 guage pinner but I know that would not work. I also have strong carpet/double stick tape. Other wise I also have smalle screws which is what I would likely use to ensure the guide board did not come free.

I’m not exactly sure about the guage but yes, I use my Porter Cable pin tacker. It really doesn’t take much. I usually use something like a factory edge of 1/4” plywood for a straightedge so the pins aren’t going through much. Never had one come loose, you aren’t pushing against them – they’re just withstanding a light pressure against the fence. That said of course any fastening will work.

If the lumber is really out of whack on the edge, draw a straight line with a straight edge or another already straightened board or snap a chalk line, and cut it with a circular saw, band saw, jig saw, whatever you have and then run a couple passes on the jointer.

-- Gary; Marysville, MI...Involve your children in your projects as much as possible, the return is priceless.

The rustic grading on Walnut is likely related to grain direction. Since it’s rough right now its a bit of a crap-shoot what’s under the fuzz. On a whole Walnut can get a bit too wavy and switch directions, as long as the knots are solid though you’ll be fine. Anyways, kiln dried Walnut usually gets bumped up a grade because the heartwood leaches into the sapwood to create an even color.

One wood, unless you’re specifically looking for Rustic, to avoid the #2c/Rustic grade on is Cherry. Right now I’m struggling to turn 3 10”x12’ boards into 5 5”x4’ boards for a project I’m working on now. God I hate gum patches.